The invention relates to customized wallpaper, and methods for allowing customers to select a particular wallpaper design from a displayed selection, and to customize the design by adding personalized information. The method requires the use of a digital image of the basic design that is to be customized.
Among the variety of ways of decorating walls in both dwellings and commercial enterprises is the use of wall coverings, particularly wallpaper. The term xe2x80x9cwallpaperxe2x80x9d generally refers to rolls of sheets of a substrate onto which is printed a repeating pattern. The substrate is not limited to paper, but can be any other type of sheet onto which print can be applied, and that will adhere to a wall surface, such as vinyl sheeting.
While wallpaper sometimes provides a better aesthetic appearance than paint, wallpaper decorations are necessarily limited by the repeating patterns that are required to allow alignment of similarly patterned sheets of wallpaper side by side on a wall. This requirement that the wallpaper have a repeating pattern limits artistic expression and frequently reduces aesthetic appeal. In certain situations, it may be preferable to have a mural that does not have a repeating pattern, instead of wallpaper. However, mural paintings are prepared by skilled artists so that they are expensive.
There is yet a need for a type of wallpaper that does not have a repeating pattern, and that can be adapted for use on walls of different sizes. Desirably, the wallpaper should also allow a purchaser to customize the designs further by adding personal detailed touches, such as images of family members, and the like. It is further desirable that the customer should be able to select the wallpaper from a display, request custom modification, and receive the specially prepared wallpaper within a short space of time.
The invention provides customized wallpaper panels, that can be sold on rolls, for use as wall decoration.
In one embodiment, a vendor of customized wallpaper displays copies of basic designs for wallpaper on a medium, such as a book or video display unit, to customers for review and selection of designs. The basic designs do not include repeating patterns. Each of the basic designs consists of contiguous decorative panel portions. The customer then selects a wallpaper basic design and a subdesign of the selected basic design. A subdesign is a contiguous portion of the basic design, which consists of one or more contiguous panel portions to provide a coherent design, and not the entire displayed basic design. The vendor relays the customizing information, including selection of at least one basic design and a subdesign within the selected basic design, to a source for customizing an existing digital image of the basic design. The digital image is customized by incorporating the subdesign selection to produce a customized digital image. The customized digital image is then printed onto a suitable substrate for the wallpaper.
The wallpaper may comprise several rolls of sheets. Notwithstanding, when the sheets are properly aligned and adhered to the wall side by side in proper sequence, a complete design or scene is produced as in a mural painting, without need for the repeating pattern that is typical of prior art wallpaper.